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The Oklahoma City Thunder came away late to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 125-107 in an NBA thriller, taking a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference meeting. semifinal series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player and a finalist for the award this season, scored 22 points and the Thunder capitalized on the Lakers’ 21-point lead on Thursday to hand LeBron James his 300th playoff game loss.
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Elsewhere, Eastern Conference top seed Detroit is also 2-0 after a 107-97 home win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In Oklahoma City, Gilgeous-Alexander was also undersized, but he was fully supported.
Chet Holmgren scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds, Ajay Mitchell added 20 points, and Jared McCain contributed 18 points off the bench to help the Thunder withstand a 31-point performance from Austin Reaves.
James, who became the first to play 300 postseason games, scored 23 points and provided six assists, and the Lakers led by five points at the beginning of the third quarter.
But with the league’s leading scorer Luka Doncic still away from injury, the Lakers couldn’t handle it, even with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench for a long time due to injuries.
Oklahoma City built a 22-5 lead to take control and will aim to stave off pressure as the series moves to Los Angeles for games three and four on Saturday and Monday.
“We have to be aggressive,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I feel like they’re playing with a lot of energy, attacking a lot, making quick decisions, playing fast, especially in the first half.
“As long as we take care of this, our footing should go in the right direction.”
The competition for the balls resulted in both teams being frustrated by the referees. Gilgeous-Alexander was whistled for a serious foul, and he and James were thrown under the basket after fouling Reaves late in the game.
Lakers coach JJ Redick disagreed with the manager, saying the Thunder “have a few guys who are bad at everything”.
But, he added, “We didn’t lose because of the refs.”
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In Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and dished out 10 assists to lead the Pistons.
They set the tone defensively early but fumbled late after the Cavaliers fought back to take a two-point lead in the fourth quarter.
“I just want to win the game,” Cunningham said of his impressive fourth-quarter performance. “There have been a lot of games where it’s been tight… The ball is in my hands and I have to play with it.
“The pressure and the time, it’s very important… all of that motivates me.”
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points. Jarrett Allen chipped in 22, but James Harden shot just 10 on 3 of 13 shots, and his four outings included a last-minute layup.
The Cavaliers have a mountain to climb as they go home for three games on Saturday and four games on Monday.
The Pistons, who locked up the top seed in the East and the third-best record in the league, had to overcome a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Orlando Magic in the opener.
In this series, they were determined to take advantage of their home court, and the second game showed another defensive display from Detroit, leading to a 54-43 halftime lead.
The Cavaliers responded in the third quarter and took the lead on Evan Mobley’s minutes into the fourth – their first lead since the opening minutes.
But he couldn’t hang on. Duncan Robinson’s three-pointer put Detroit ahead, and they would never walk again.
Cunningham said the Pistons will have to “increase our energy” in Cleveland.
“They are a tough team to beat at home,” he said.
